Re-signing with Red Sox was 'no-brainer' for Steve Pearce

Bill Koch

Monday

Nov 19, 2018 at 7:17 PM

Steve Pearce didn’t waste much time deciding where he wanted to play baseball in 2019.

The World Series Most Valuable Player never seriously entertained leaving the Red Sox. Pearce last week signed a one-year, $6.25-million deal with Boston to return to the club next season. Pearce and his teammates will attempt to become the first repeat champions since the Yankees captured three straight titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

"The team that I was on and the run that we [...]

Steve Pearce didn’t waste much time deciding where he wanted to play baseball in 2019.

The World Series Most Valuable Player never seriously entertained leaving the Red Sox. Pearce last week signed a one-year, $6.25-million deal with Boston to return to the club next season. Pearce and his teammates will attempt to become the first repeat champions since the Yankees captured three straight titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

“The team that I was on and the run that we had, I’m very anxious to get back there next year,” Pearce said. “It was a very easy decision.”

Pearce homered four times during the postseason, with three of those coming into the last two games of the Fall Classic. His solo shot in the eighth inning and three-run double in the ninth pushed the Red Sox past the Dodgers, 9-6, in Game 4. Pearce followed with a two-run homer in the first and another solo blast in the eighth as Boston finished off Los Angeles, 5-1, in Game 5 and secured its ninth title in franchise history.

“He’s part of the club,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “He’s not afraid to get a big hit, as you saw. He’s really a good fit for us on the team.”

Pearce was acquired in a June 28 trade with Toronto for minor-league infielder Santiago Espinal. Boston was the last of the five American League East franchises for Pearce to call home, and the journeyman warmed to the city’s pressurized atmosphere immediately. Pearce pounded left-handed pitching to the tune of a .959 OPS in 120 plate appearances, more than 100 points above his career .852 average.

“This was the place I wanted to be,” Pearce said. “The team I was on, how everything was done there and bringing everybody back, it was a no-brainer for me. This is where I want to play.”

Pearce and Mitch Moreland appear to form a natural platoon at first base. Moreland holds a career .780 OPS against right-handed pitching and hit that number on the nose last season while being named an A.L. All-Star. He’s signed through 2019 as well, as the second year of his two-year deal will pay him $6.5 million.

“We really did like the combination,” Dombrowski said. “We felt for us, for where they are in their careers and where we are as an organization, we really did want to hold it to one year.”

Pearce will turn 36 in April next season while Moreland enters 2019 as a 33-year-old. Both seem ideal short-term fits for a club that has most of its key pieces under contract entering its title defense. Three of Boston’s top 10 prospects per MLB.com could climb the ranks and be in the mix at first base by 2020.

Michael Chavis saw the start of his 2018 delayed by an 80-game drug suspension, but he remains the No. 69 overall prospect in baseball and tops in the Red Sox system. Chavis slashed .298/.381/.538 in 46 games across three levels, collecting nine home runs and 14 doubles in just 46 games. He’s likely to start 2019 at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Bobby Dalbec enjoyed a breakout campaign as Salem, taking home Carolina League MVP honors. He dominated the Class A ranks while finishing with 35 doubles and 32 home runs across two levels. Dalbec, Boston’s No. 6 prospect, slashed .257/.361/.558 in 126 games and flashed some of the best raw power in the minor leagues.

Josh Ockimey reached Triple-A Pawtucket by the end of the season and should at least start there in 2019. The left-handed hitter slashed .245/.356/.455 across two levels, playing in 117 games. Ockimey racked up 21 doubles and 20 home runs, slipping into the top third of Red Sox prospects at No. 10.

— bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25

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